(no subject)

[baals]

Hiding on Earth turned out to be quite the productive endeavor for Ba'al. He fit in absurdly easily in the world of business. While expanding into the business world he likewise expanded into the criminal world.

In the business world he's known as Hannibal Hadad. His holdings, which started in an areo-space company, expanded into real-estate, construction and string of electronics retailers.

In the criminal world he's known as simply The Boss. His criminal network, stretches into the usual suspects of guns, drugs and smuggling.

Spread across both the business and the criminal side are oddities. On their own, they just seem strange. Together, something big is being built. Something high tech. It could be anything from missiles to fighter jets. Whatever it is he's taking great pains that the government and the larger criminal underworld don't know what he's doing.

Seeing as he's making an effort to hid it. He shouldn't let the recently hired undercover FBI agent anywhere near himself or anything important. He could just feed him false leads down the chain. But... quite frankly, he's bored.

After a couple months, he calls him to his office. Enough time passed to not be suspicious and give Mike time to make a reasonable impression.

Ba'al's office is a modern minimalist style. All clean lines and simple shapes. No unnecessary furniture. As for himself, he's always wearing some designer suit or another. He's standing and looking over some papers on his desk when Mike enters. The papers are Mike's personnel file.

"Ah, yes. It's good to finally meet you. Michael, is it? Or Mike?" He holds out a hand to shake, which he won't last too long or too briefly. "You've been doing excellent work under Johnathan."

Comments

[501s]

Death had been certain this time, there was no denying that. He'd been too aware as it came over him, as he felt himself slipping away. Even once darkness engulfed him, he faded. After that, everything was a blur. Memories or dreams, he couldn't quite be sure. He remembered sun on his face, the flash of something red, a clock. But it all slipped through his fingers until there was nothing.

How long was there nothing? Minutes? Days? Years? Reality came back to him pieces. The first piece was different from the rest. Warm, pleasant, somewhere he wanted to stay. He felt good. But then all was darkness again. And his knees hurt. His back ached. The darkness wasn't from death or sleep any longer. He could feel the cloth on his face. He tried to shake it off. He tried to move. And suddenly his reality slammed back into him.

The meeting! He tired to fight his bonds, tried to see what was going on. He doubled his efforts hearing those footsteps. Briggs! Why couldn't he have just let the mission burn? Because Briggs didn't give up, and Mike had led him into a trap trying to save his own skin.

He screamed, as loud and as hard as he could behind the tape. It trailed off into something like a sob. He paused only long enough to draw in enough breath to try again. He'd burn himself, if he had to. Blow his cover and let that monster have him, so long as it meant no one else got hurt.

That monster thing was just part of being dead, right? His memories warped with the stress of everything.

[buddhistbeatdown]

Given the information Briggs had, he knew that Mike was in danger of losing his cover if he hadn't already. He wouldn't have dropped a name like Odin Rossi if it wasn't serious. The worst part, from his point of view, is that Mike was right about Hadad. Where ever Mike was, Briggs needed to get him out of there. He's in too deep without a tac team or proper back up.

With how off the books this was, Briggs had to do some convincing and string pulling to get a tac team on stand-by. There wasn't anywhere close to the meeting place they could set the team up. Which was smart on the part of Hadad but very irritating for Briggs. The closest they could get was roughly half a k out, and even then the roads were not to their advantage. It would be no easy straight shot in SUVs to surround the building. The building, a new development, was on a slight hill with open space in all directions.

Everything screamed trap.

So, Mike stepped into something big. After much protesting, he tells everyone he's going in alone. Don't worry, everyone knows the go signal. Mike might not even be there. It'll be fine.

It will not be fine.

He slipped into his usual mask of calm yet vaguely cheerful. He'll go in. Confirm Mike's whereabouts. If Hadad is actually willing to pay of fictitious debts, he'll demand to see Mike. He'll find a reason.

The moment he got there and just spoke to Hadad, he knew it was bad. Everything about the guy was calculating and deliberate. Right down to word choice. He saw all the tactics he used in play with this man.

After a bit of wordplay and back and forth Hadad agrees to take Briggs, or rather Mr Rossi to him. Everything still screamed trap which was all the more reason he needed to get Mike out of there.

As soon as he heard the muffled scream, Briggs tapped his watch and sent the go signal. Seconds later he had to lock down his surprise when he moved the tarp aside. He throws out the idea of staying in character a moment later.

Briggs immediately goes to pull the tape away from his mouth. "Jesus, Mike! What happened?" he manages to keep his voice. He's certain they're being watched and listened to. The tac team should be here any second. As soon as he hears--No. No, he's leaving him tied up and on some perverted display. It might get him shot, but he cuts the ropes at Mike's wrists. "Can you walk?"

[501s]

Had this been before the bathtub, Mike may have still had a bit of shame left when the tarp was pulled aside. He couldn't see who it was, but all he felt was dread. He didn't care if they saw him like this, he just didn't want them dragged into this mess. It only got worse hearing Briggs' voice. Even before the other agent touched the tape, Mike was trying to warn him off. Shaking his head and trying to talk through it.

He growls in pain as the tape pulls at the stubble on his face, but it was fleeting. "Rossi." He said the name sharply, hoping to get his point across. Briggs couldn't break cover under any circumstances. "You gotta get outta here! PLEASE! What I owe's not worth it. He wants you!"

The moment his hands are free, he tears down the blindfold and shoves at Briggs. "GO! I'm--my debt's not worth it!"

[buddhistbeatdown]

It gets the point across, Briggs just doesn't like it. "I'm not--" He should've heard the tac team by now. Fuck. He has to keep his cover.

Okay. Work with what he knows. Leaving is a non-option. There has to be something he can use. He doesn't have much time to work with. The sound of the garage door starting to open prompts him to move. It's stupid and crazy and maybe has a sliver of a chance of working. Briggs surges forward and grabs Mike by the throat. The actual physical contact isn't meant to harm but it has to look like it. He flexes his arm muscles as if trying to choke him.

The door is nearly open. Briggs and Mike will be clearly seen by anyone on the other side of that door.

He jerks Mike's head up to look at him. "I own you," he says in a half growl. All his body language is coming off as assertive and dominant. Except for micro-expressions around his eyes. It's something only Mike can see at this angle. He's trying to convey an apology with it. This is a stupid and desperate idea but it's all he's got.

"I decide how much you're worth." All trace of micro-expressions is gone. There's some guilty truth behind his words that he locks down. "You belong to me."

"Prove it," Hadad's voice. He's standing in the doorway, flanked by armed guards. "Prove it and he's yours."

Shit. Shit. Shit. He needs to buy time. He lets go of Mike's neck and turns to the voice. "That's it?" He sounds cocky, like it's a simple ask.

[501s]

Purely on instinct, Mike's hands go to Briggs' arm. For a split second, it was the first meeting with Bello all over again. That unshakable feeling that Briggs might find him out. Or might actually be dirty. He still wasn't entirely sure, his loyalties still torn. But now was not the time to dwell on the battle between Briggs and the Bureau. Right now he had no choice but to trust the man holding him. Even if he was dirty, he was far more trust worthy than Hadad.

"No!" The protest came out strangled, more in his own panic than the hand around his throat.

Hearing those words from Briggs, however, made his stomach clench. He pushed it down, focused on the here and now. He could deal with emotions later. Seeing that look in the other's eyes was enough, for now, to convince himself the words were just an act.

"I'm...I'm not worth it! Please! My debt's not worth more than your life! He's bigger, worse than Bello!"

He could distract Hadad and the guards some how. Give Briggs a chance to get away. He knew there'd be a team nearby, there had to be. Someone to get Briggs out.

[buddhistbeatdown]

The team should have been here by now. Something is wrong. Hearing no gunshots is somewhat reassuring. Did Hadad have something jamming his signal? The team would've moved in when they lost contact.

"Shut up! You don't get a say in this." Briggs said with irritation, which isn't altogether fake. He takes a very calculated stance in front of Mike, keeping himself between Mike and the others.

Despite what Briggs said, everything Mike said registered. Worst than Bello. Bigger. Must be a global organization, very likely to have connections to government. That could mean the tac team isn't coming. Unfortunately, despite all of that it just makes him more inclined to stand his ground. He wouldn't make it far even if he did run. Better to go down trying to get them both out.

"I have enjoyed his company," Hadad says of Mike. "But if he truly is yours, I see no reason for him not to be returned." It sounds overly reasonable to Briggs which makes the hairs on the back on his neck stand up. But he'll roll with it.

"Great! I'll just take him and get out of here."

"Prove it." Hadad reiterates. "Then, you may go."

"And how, exactly, am I supposed to do that?" Briggs still sounds calm, if a little aggravated. He knows where this is going, he could hear it in Hadad's voice and with the way he said enjoyed. A part of him is a little too excited about the prospect but he can't think about that now.

"Must I spell it out? Fuck him, or do whatever it is you do with him." Hadad and the guards close the door behind them and stand there expectantly. "And, yes, do it here." Hadad waves a hand which prompts the guards to aim their weapons at both of them.

Briggs turns to face Mike. His body language is according to his cover but his expression shows concern. He won't do anything unless Mike shows some sign of agreement. He also takes the moment to show him he still has his knife tucked against his wrist. It's not much, but he holds it where Mike can grab it without being noticed.

[501s]

Part of him wanted to shove Briggs aside and lay into Hadad for even suggesting it. As depraved as people were, most criminals didn't work like that. At least not the ones he dealt with. He could even do it without breaking his cover, since he clearly had experience with criminal types. But that part of him was too small to make a difference.

He had to do something that would give his would-be rescuer a chance to get out. If anyone could slip free of Hadad's grasp, it was Briggs. But he was sticking to his no-man-left-behind ideals far too hard for that to happen. There was only one way to give him a chance. It would hurt them both, in different ways, but it was the only option he had.

At the look Briggs gave him, he shook his head. He had no way to explain or apologize for what he was about to do.

"He's won't do that," Mike said, stepping out from behind Briggs. There was tension in his voice, as he nervously eyed the men with weapons. This was a gamble, and he could end up dead for good. "I lied, okay? I don't actually owe Rossi anything." He kept the knife hidden against his own arm as he moved a step closer. "I'm a federal agent and he's my CI." With some effort, he traded the tension for burning conviction. "And I can't let you hurt him!"

He rushed at Hadad as soon as the words were off his lips, raising the knife. He was aiming right for the man's chest, though he knew it would never land.

[baals]

The guards shoot, but not at Mike. A protest behind him was cut short with the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground.

Ba'al, or rather, Hadad can take care of himself. His hand comes up to block the knife, not caring if it happens to go through his hand, he can fix that later. The point is to get control of the hand with the knife. His other hand, predictably, goes for his throat. The eye glow returns as he uses Mike's momentum to turn him. For no other reason than Ba'al wants him to see the dead body of the person he was trying to protect. And in case there was any doubt, there's a bullet wound right between Briggs' eyes, which are still open.

"I appreciate your honesty," he tells him, almost soothingly.

Then to the guards: "Get rid of that and clean this up."

[501s]

The implication of the shots not hitting him didn't register. It should have gone the way he expected it. The guards were there to protect Hadad, weren't they? When he doesn't end up dead, he keeps fighting with all he has. It's all he has left. Why wasn't Briggs making a break for it?!

He loses rather quickly, having nothing to match the strength of whatever Hadad really was. Even with the hand around his throat, he kept trying to overpower the man in every possible way. That is until he's forced to look at Briggs. Then the fight just drains out of him.

"No..." The word is barely more than a whisper. He twists around, looking up at the man behind him. "You have to bring him back. Let him go. He's not involved! I'll give you--I'll do anything you want me to!" If the house lost both him and Briggs at the same time, they'd fall apart. No, if they lost Briggs. Mike didn't matter, they'd move on. They couldn't move on if Briggs vanished.

[baals]

The two guards bring the tarp over to the body. "You involved him." Ba'al is quick to remind him. He readjusts his grip on him and makes sure the knife is in his hand rather than Mike's.

"This could have been avoided if you merely told me the truth, Special Agent Mike Warren." He brings the knife up and positions it directly over Mike's heart. He doesn't stab him, he just holds it so the point digs into his skin. "I will give you one more chance. Tell me his real name and I will revive him."

He'll wait for his answer but will plunge the knife into his heart the moment he has it.

[501s]

Hearing his real name drains all the color form his face. He'd suspected, but hearing it made it so much worse. He'd never had a chance. Briggs died for nothing. He freezes the moment the knife touches him, his heart thundering in his chest.

"Odin Rossi," the name is off his lips without hesitation. If his hunch was correct, it wasn't a lie. Not exactly. "He refu--" He cries out, his explanation to cover the lie cut off as the knife hit its mark. He fought, just for a moment, scrambling for the knife hand. But it doesn't last long.

His last thought was that maybe, just maybe, he won't trace it back to the house. Not without Briggs' real name.

[baals]

Like the first time Ba'al revived him, Mike is left to come around on his own. The sarcophagus opens automatically. Once again, clothing has been left out for him, a long with water and food.

"There are worse ways I could kill you." Said conversationally. He's back at the desk on the office side of the room. He doesn't bother looking up from what he's working on. It's something on a tablet computer.

[501s]

This time, Mike wasn't so ready to get out of the box. He just wanted to stay there, drifting in that pleasant feeling. It had everything to do with what he needed to face, he told himself. But he had no control over when it ended. Just a minute longer, he wanted to ask. Just give him one more minute of that feeling.

He reluctantly extracted himself and went to the items laid out for him. Something was nagging at him. Under the guilt weighing on his shoulders. He had the bottle open and nearly to his lips before he stopped. He'd been told his little dilemma from before was a side effect of being revived. Yet he hadn't felt so much as a twinge of that erection while under that tarp. He'd been unconscious for some time after, but to not feel it at all, it was enough to make him hesitate.

Not trusting anything from the man holding him captive, he put the cap back on the bottle and set it down. He wasn't taking any chances. He paused only long enough to pull on the pants, not bothering with the shirt.

As much as he dreaded facing reality, he couldn't put it off. "What about Rossi?" He didn't bother turning around to look at Hadad as he asked it.

[baals]

In answer, a monitor on the desk is turned in Mike's direction. On screen is a video feed of a windowless concrete cell. The video high enough quality to make out details, but more importantly it's clear enough to make out the identity of the person in the cell. Briggs is sitting on the floor against the wall. He seems twitchy and uneasy. Possibly drugged and definitely having the same problem Mike had the first time. He's just doing his best to ignore it.

"Alive for now," Ba'al finally speaks. "I have yet to decide what I shall do with him." Which is actually true. He is going to keep him, of course, but just what he'll do with him remains to be seen.

[501s]

Mike can't hide the emotions that wash over him in seeing that. First, it's sheer relief. Briggs isn't dead. But it's quickly followed by a fierce and intense hatred. He was supposed to let Briggs walk away. Briggs was supposed to be free of this. If they both vanished into this mission, how long before the others followed?

He was able to rein it in, though for a moment it was evident he ground his teeth together. He still held tension in his voice, resisting the urge to pick up that monitor to smash it into Hadad's face. "What do I to do?" He asked, keeping his tone calm. "To convince you to let him go."

[baals]

"The one thing you and your... friend seem incapable of. The truth." Ba'al stands, looking Mike over critically. "No matter what it is. Further concealing it will protect no one."

"But... if that is too difficult for you." His attention turns to the monitor. "Kill him." He looks thoughtful for a moment, "More than once. Let's do three times and after that I'll revive and release him."

[501s]

Absolutely horror washed over his face. Killing Briggs was something he could never do. Not even to same him. No matter what he suspected the man had been capable of, to take his life like that? Even if it were temporary, it violated everything Mike stood for, everything he was at his very core.

"I gave you the truth!" He stalked toward the desk. In giving up so much, he didn't have much more to lose. Which lent itself to a strange sort of courage. "I told you who I was! And that man is Odin Rossi!" It had been a suspicion only, but one he'd stake his life on.

[baals]

He appears utterly unconcerned when Mike stalks over. If anything, he seems mildly amused. "That much is true, yes, but you have yet to tell me everything. Odin Rossi isn't his real name anymore than Hannibal Hadad is mine."

"Now, you can tell me or I can dig it out." he smiles, the prospect of digging it out is not a bad one from his perspective. It may be bad for everyone else.

"Unless, of course, you have a better offer for his freedom."

[501s]

Dig it out of him. That hit him harder than the confirmation that Hadad was not the man's name. No, he needed to stay focused. It had been proven that torture didn't actually work. Unless the man already knew the information and just wanted to hear Mike say it. He needed to play this carefully, but either way he was going to be the one hurting. He had no way to win, but perhaps he could do some good for Briggs.

"Me." There was no hesitation in his voice, no reservations. He knew where he stood. "My freedom for his."

[baals]

Ba'al gives a breathless laugh. "I would find that more compelling if I did not already have you but I appreciate you willingness to sacrifice yourself. It's very touching."

He casually wanders over to the fridge to get himself a drink. "Tell me, does he know how far you're willing to go to protect him? It seems to me, he's under the misguided impression he can save you." He points back tot he monitor. Briggs is up and checking the door frame for weaknesses. He actually finds one, where the concrete is crumbling against the metal frame.

"If I were to release him, he would only return for you." Which gives him an idea. "If you can convince him to leave... I will let him go."

[501s]

Watching the screen, Mike's tongue flicked over his lips. Briggs was smart. He would see through just about any ploy. But he was also logical, beyond anything Mike could keep up with. A box that brought people back from the dead would be difficult for any man to swallow. There was a decent chance that Briggs thought he'd been saved through conventional means.

"Kill me." He looked to his captor, completely serious. "In front of him. Whatever way you want. He's not going to take it well, but he'll stop trying to save me."

Okay, so it would mean Briggs would still come after Hadad, but Mike had a feeling that would be easier to deal with.

[baals]

Ba'al's eyes narrow as he considers that proposal. It would succeed in convincing 'Rossi' to not come looking for him but the fall out... well, it would be entertaining. But he should still consider the dangers. Given what he's seen of their interactions so far and what he already knows about who Rossi likely really is... revenge will be on the table once Mike is out.

That could prove to be a problem later but then, he said nothing about not recapturing him later. The safest option would be to implant a symbiote and avoid it altogether. He'll hold the symbiote option in reserve for now. After all, he's not sure he wants to share just yet. Frankly, Ba'al does just wants to see what will happen.

"Very well. Shall I call it a warning?" he asks, somewhat rhetorically. Then not rhetorically at all: "You realize, it will be a slow death? If I'm to prove a point, you will suffer for it."

[501s]

He had a feeling it would not be his only slow death in the days, weeks, or moths to come. He was resigning himself to a life of constant torment at the hands of a monstrous psychopath. But it would be worth it if he could ensure no one else got dragged into it.

"It doesn't matter," he said, with utter conviction. "So long as Rossi gets to walk free."

He tried to ignore it, but there was a strange itch at the back of his mind. An eagerness to let the man kill him. To get another glimpse of what he thought he saw. To be inside the sarcophagus again. No, that was just to test his new theory. Because now for the second time he had no sign of an agonizing erection. He would need several more attempts before he could prove his previous assumption wrong. His new assumption being that the "reaction" was an intentional effect brought on by something his captor did to him.

[baals]

"For now, you shall join him." His mannerisms and tone are back to what he used when they were just CEO and assistant. Almost charming if you forget the criminal empire, kidnapping and murders.

"When everything is prepared, the both of you will be taken to a different location. Outside of this complex. You will be killed and he will be released." he tells him this out a perverse sense of courtesy. He calls up an areal map of the location he plans to use. It's an old factory building. The view is zoomed out just enough to allow for some subtle landmarks. Enough to figure out its exact location.

"Unless you have any particular requests on how you die, it's time for you to rejoin your... friend."

[501s]

That was a detail Mike hadn't considered. First he thought maybe he could get some information to Briggs. But with the quality of that video feed, he'd never be able to get something to him. Not clearly, anyway. It sounded like a trap. Why would the man need a trap when he already had Mike in every possible way? Not a trap for him, then. For Briggs.

"No." He said it as he studied the map. Trying to figure out if it was somewhere he knew. Or somewhere significant. "Kill me as slowly as you want, but I'm not doing that. If you stick me in there with him, I will fight you tooth and nail every step of the way. From now until you kill me for real."

It was all he had, but he had to try for it. He would not be used to manipulate Briggs that way.